Tears & Tradition
by bewdifuldragon
Summary: A broken tradition breaks Adrien's heart. Can a kind gesture from Marinette ease the pain? -There will come a day when I will get over the whole umbrella thing but it is not this day!


_A/N: I've dropped into the depths of Miraculous hell and I just wanted to write a little drabble about my kitten son and his mama, I didn't mean for the feels to happen. Oh, well._

 _Also if you're here waiting for the net chapter of All For Anzu, PLEASE DON'T BE MAD AT MEE. I've hit a block with that and i don't want to update for the sake of updating; I'd rather publish something of quality that will hopefully be worth a wait. Thanks for being so patient. xx_

 _This is also being posted to my Tumblr so feel free to check it out winkwink: **qualityrubbish**_

 _Thanks and enjoy :D_

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Adrien's back hit the wall behind the school, and slowly he slid down, hitting the ground with a thump. In vain he wiped the tears from his eyes; not that they were so distinguishable from the raindrops that fell onto him. He was cold and wet and too upset to care about either of those things.

As a general rule, Adrien tried to keep an upbeat and positive attitude, despite all the restrictions in life he faced. As such, there weren't a lot of things that could bring him to tears. But today was the exception.

Every year on his mother's birthday, Adrien had a tradition. While she was still around, they'd have a picnic lunch under the Eiffel Tower, and it was a dream. His father would even take time off work, and together they'd walk to the landmark and feast upon homemade sandwiches and cookies that Adrien and his mother had prepared earlier, and stay out together until the sun began to set. Gabriel would mutter something about being more than wealthy enough to have a more upperclass meal, and his wife would laugh, and insist that this was a much more personable and enjoyable way of doing things, and that all she wanted for her birthday was to be with her two favourite boys. Adrien would smile, and of course, Gabriel would relent and say that all he wanted was her happiness, and no matter what else, it was a good day. The happiest days of Adrien's life, to be exact.

Since her disappearance, Adrien tried to keep the tradition alive. Every year, rather than walking, Gabriel would have a driver take them after finally growing tired of hearing Adrien complaining that this was something they "had" to do. And rather than home baked treats, Gabriel would order his chef make them some fancy lunch to bring. And rather than having any kind of fun, Gabriel would spend the entire time doing business on his phone, and what seemed like minutes later, would declare the lunch was over and head off to some meeting, leaving his son all alone to ponder what might've happened to his Mum.

It wasn't much of a tradition, but it was the only one they had, and so that was probably why it hurt as much as it did when Gabriel told him that morning, "Adrien, you are far too old for these childish outings. It's about time you spent your days more wisely. Now hurry up, or you will be late for school."

And because he was a good son, and because there was no changing Gabriel's mind once it was made up, Adrien went to school.

He did his best to put on a happy face, and it seemed to work. Chloe flirted with him, Nino chatted at him through their lessons, and as long as he kept up the pretence that it was another normal day, no one seemed to notice that he felt dead inside.

But now the day was over, and everyone had rushed home on account of the rain. The Gorilla had texted Adrien and apologised profusely – apparently, he'd be late picking him up due to some mechanical fault, and something about rainy day traffic. Whatever. It was probably best that the Gorilla didn't see him like this anyway, he decided.

Fairly certain he was alone, Adrien dropped his head, and his shoulders began to shake. The rain provided perfect ambiance for his mood as he wept openly, a luxury he didn't have in his own home. From his inside shirt pocket, he could feel movement. Plagg had been trying all day to cheer him up. It was an effort that Adrien appreciated, but one that was exerted in vain. Not because Plagg, despite usually having good intentions, lacked any social skills, but because, like Adrien explained, there were some wounds that words couldn't heal.

Just like there was some pain that rain couldn't wash away. Especially when there wasn't any.

The pitter-patter of raindrops was all around him, and yet, Adrien was no longer getting wet. Curiously, he looked up, and was met with a set of bluebell eyes. For a moment, he thought he saw Ladybug, but he squinted through his blurred vision and realised that it was, in fact, Marinette who stood before him, with an umbrella in her hand to keep him sheltered. Maybe it was because he was feeling lonely, but he couldn't help noticing that there was something extra beautiful about her today, down to the soft blush on her cheeks. Or maybe that was the lighting. Either way, for a moment, it was like he was seeing her for the first time.

"We have to stop meeting like this," she said in almost a whisper, and for a moment Adrien wondered what she meant. And then he remembered his first week of school when he'd given Marinette his umbrella. In fact, he was almost certain that she was holding the very same one.

That was when it dawned on him what he must look like. His green eyes were probably red-rimmed from crying, and he was soaked to the bone. He stumbled over himself getting to his feet, trying desperately to find his usual composure, and failing miserably. So instead he apologised over and over as he used his sodden sleeve to clean himself up. It didn't help much.

"I-I'm sorry you had to see me like this," he was saying as he dabbed at his eyes. "It's been a strange day for me, but everything's okay, really. I'm sorry that-"

Wordlessly, Marinette pulled a pink, lace-trimmed handkerchief from her pocket and handed it to Adrien, who took it with a bewildered expression. Normally, she was so flustered, so fidgety – Adrien had come to accept that as a part of her personality – but now, she was so calm when he was not. In fact, he could've sworn she seemed…concerned.

"You don't have to apologise," Marinette said with a kind smile – one that vaguely reminded Adrien of his mother's, and someone else's. "I noticed you seemed a little off today. But whatever it is, you can tell me, and…maybe I can help?"

Wait, she…noticed? And he'd been so careful. Adrien momentarily debated whether he should tell Marinette the truth. After all, he wouldn't even know where to begin explaining his feelings. It wasn't something he was used to doing. But there was something about the way Marinette stared at him so patiently, that made the decision for him.

"It's my mother's birthday," he said quietly, and Mari's eyes widened a little in realisation.

"I'm sorry," She said quietly. "I bet that can't be easy."

Adrien nodded, and dug his hands into his pockets. "My Dad and I had this dumb little tradition…it's not anything special, but I guess he doesn't have time for it anymore."

Marinette stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder. Even through his soaked shirt, Adrien could feel the warmth of her skin. Her other hand still held the umbrella above them. She didn't say anything – she seemed to know that there was nothing that could be said – and Adrien's gaze fell over her shoulder. "Come forward, you're getting wet." Marinette had been so careful keeping the umbrella over Adrien, despite the fact that he was already wet through, that she'd forgotten to keep herself dry. Gently, Adrien pulled her closer until they were both out of the rain, before realising just how close he'd put them. They were inches away, and something about the proximity caused his heart to beat faster. Which was weird, because he could've sworn he'd never thought of her in that way.

"Hey, Marinette?" he said so quietly, that he was surprised she'd heard him over the rain.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

Marinette smiled, and they hugged, it was a beautiful moment. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders, and his wrapped around her waist, and somehow she kept the umbrella upright over them the whole time. For the first time that day, Adrien smiled.

Right up until a loud noise interrupted them. Adrien didn't even need to look at his phone to recognise the Gorilla's preset custom ringtone. He pulled away with a sigh.

"Sounds like my ride is here," he said, before an idea hit him. "Hey, can I maybe give you a ride home?"

Marinette seemed flattered by the suggestion. "I'd like that," she answered cheerfully, and together they walked towards the front of the school. Sometime along the way the rain stopped, but they both pretended it hadn't so they could stay huddled together under the umbrella.


End file.
